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The projects funded through the BRDI—a joint NIFA and DOE program—will help develop economically and environmentally sustainable sources of renewable biomass, increase the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products, and diversify the United States’ energy portfolio. Both the DOE and the NIFA have been given statutory authorities to support the development of a biomass-based industry in the United States under the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 and the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

The NIFA and the DOE will make up to $9 million available through the BRDI in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017. Applicants will be permitted to address any or all of the following three legislatively mandated technical areas: feedstocks development, biofuels and biobased-products development, and biofuels-development analysis.

In support of these goals, the NIFA and the DOE are soliciting applications from all interested parties, including for-profit entities, universities, nonprofits, and national laboratories. For FY 2017, the DOE anticipates funding one to six awards, while the NIFA anticipates funding three to 14 awards. Awards are anticipated to range from $500,000 to $2 million per award. All DOE funding is subject to the availability of annual congressional appropriations.

For more information and application requirements, visit the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Exchange under reference number DE-FOA-0001637. Concept papers are due by July 7, 2017, and full applications are due by Sept. 22, 2017.

Dried wood chips lie in a pile at a bioenergy plant in Juehnde, Germany, Aug. 14, 2007. Juehnde was the first village in Germany to become energy self-sufficient by building its own bioenergy electrical plant, which uses wood chips, cow dung, and plant remains gathered from the community to create electicity and heat. Interest in bioenergy has grown as a means to cut greenhouse-gas emissions. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)